Tangible Loneliness
by Fate Pwns You
Summary: Where was the line between imagination and reality drawn and exactly how thick was it? Everyone had told her he wasn't real, but she knew he was as real as the misfortune that plagued her life. Joker/Alice and some Julius/Alice if you squint. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: Where was the line between imagination and reality drawn and exactly how thick was it? Everyone had told her he wasn't real, but she knew he was as real as the misfortune that plagued her life. Joker/Alice and some Julius/Alice if you squint. AU.**

**I have the biggest feeling something like this has been done before, I just-**

**Also, I tried writing in a different kind of style but I think I messed up in some places so if the phrasing is awkward, I apologize in advance.**

**Quite obviously the HnKnA series is not mine.**

**-.-**

**Tangible Loneliness**

Alice could remember the day he first came into her life quite clearly.

It was odd considering that a majority of her memories that went back that far in her life all started with him in one shape or form.

He first appeared when she was only five years old.

Her shoulder length brown haired bangs casting over her eyes as she laid on her stomach coloring a picture of a circus tent. Her father had promised to take her and her older sister, Lorina out to the circus when the weekend rolled around. Alice had never been there before but she could recall from her sister's words that it was a place to have fun and see amazing performances.

Lorina was still at school and Alice had gotten home not too long ago from kindergarten.

The tent looked so pretty and she couldn't wait to show her sister when she came back.

When she had next looked up, he had just been standing there as though nothing were out of the ordinary.

His outfit was in a sense to the young girl, other worldly. Blacks, greys, and reds along with the golden rings that went over his shoulders and chest area… She could remember feeling an overwhelming sense of glee at his appearance that just seemed so foreign to her at the time. His single red eye was shown gleaming at her warmly as the other was hidden behind an odd looking black patch that held a yellow design on the front and he also wore a strange hat on his head that made her turquoise irises glow in amazement.

He said his name was Joker.

An odd name it was to her, but due to its similarities to the word 'joke', the little girl couldn't help but grin and introduce herself to him kindly.

That had been the first time they met and afterwards, Joker continued popping up whenever Alice found herself alone.

He had been kinder back then or perhaps that had just been the way her childish innocence had perceived him to be…

Whenever she was alone in her room with both her parents either at work or tending to the house, the redhead would always appear near her and give her company that she gladly accepted.

Also considering that she didn't have any friends at school so gaining him as a companion was something that made her feel intensely grateful and even excited for those times when her mother told her to go off in her room and play or her dad insisted she go to the dining room table to complete her homework. It was because that meant it was practically an opened invitation for him to appear and each time he did, he always had time to show her a card trick or even juggle a couple of things.

For the first two years, Joker had been that comforting partner that she needed to confide her little complaints whenever she got in trouble and sent to time out or generally just be there to play with her when she desired a playmate.

When she had turned seven, things started to change.

She had been going into second grade and with her new age, she was moved from the small building in school and her classes were now in closer proximity to her fifth grade older sister who had made it a goal to get Alice to abandon her anti-social behavior and to make some school friends.

After she made a couple new friends she hadn't even noticed how rarely Joker seemed to appear.

She could remember her best friend Eve, she was a sweet girl who had not too long ago lost one of her front teeth and her blonde hair was always pulled up into two neat ponytails.

The two got along amazingly well and it soon came to the point where they were practically inseparable.

It was rare that they weren't over at each other's house after school to play or do homework together.

Looking back, Alice supposed the signs of Joker's change in behavior could have been seen from back then because she could recall one night before she went to sleep, after Lorina had tucked her in and kissed her good night, the redhead showed up by her bedside for the first time in a while.

He spoke of how he missed her and Alice being as childishly innocent as she was, insisted he come around more and even become friends with Eve with her.

Joker had smiled, though it had been a hollow smile with no meaning and he told her plainly he couldn't possibly share her with anyone especially with someone that constantly monopolized their time with her to the point he couldn't even see her anymore.

Alice hadn't truly understood what he meant at the time but after he told her that he should be appearing to her more often after that night, she could only smile and nod.

It had been the next day that Eve had been announced as hospitalized.

Alice could remember she rushed over to her best friend's house after school to question her parents on what happened to her and the young girl's older brother had been the only one to offer her an answer that Eve had been in a car accident along with their parents the night before.

He had also told her more complicated things on the status of her condition but due to the high level of vocabulary used, she hadn't been able to follow along too well, however the one thing she did manage to make from it was that Eve's chances of survival were low.

The news shook her and she had soon found herself withdrawing from most social activity within the classroom, the tragedy that took her best friend keeping her from opening up.

Joker had kept his promise to her that night, and sure enough his presence became more frequent thereafter.

Things were different between them at that point though.

She could remember at times his temper would be short and though he'd never snap on her, some of his words toward her mother or father were chillingly terrifying.

Her parents also came to notice that she was 'talking to herself' more often and they labeled Joker as her imaginary friend, something that she took in with confusion because it was so obvious that he wasn't imaginary because he was physically there… Alice could touch him and feel him, his dark jester costume, his shimmering red hair, and even his smooth lightly tanned skin… It was all real.

Joker insisted that he was only there for her, that was the reason only she could see him and she had taken the answer without much questioning.

When summer vacation rolled around and Alice's parents took them out of the suburbs to spend more time in the countryside with their grandparents she had taken a lot of liking to the opened fields of grass and all spaciousness.

She spent more time with Lorina reading and when she wasn't doing that, she found herself off laying in one of the tall trees out back with Joker.

He had told her more about what he was because he figured she was getting old enough anyways.

The conversation blurred out in her memories whenever she tried thinking back on it and all that Alice could remember is that he definitely wasn't a figment of her imagination and that he was very much real.

She didn't know if it was a false memory, but she could remember him placing a flower by her ear and insisting that they were meant to be together forever.

Things got fuzzy in her mind from there but after that, the next major incident that she could recall had involved Joker losing his patience with her father after he scolded Alice harshly on tracking dirt inside of the house from her shoes and he'd pushed the older man down.

At the time, Alice had been horrified and amazed that it had been done, however she quickly found herself under punishment when her dad turned around and gave her a couple of lashes to her hand for shoving him before he sent her to her room for the night.

Alice had blamed him for getting her in trouble and he could only smile and insist that he had only been doing what she wanted.

She didn't really have it in her to argue because Lorina had come inside of her room later to lightly chastise her over her actions.

Joker's spontaneous actions had seemed to grow worse and worse with each passing day after Alice's eighth birthday.

At the time she had been in third grade and she had made a resolution in herself to make more friends even though nobody would be able to replace Eve, she knew she couldn't be lonely forever.

She had come close to befriending a rather rambunctious trouble maker named Boris; they hadn't had much time to grow close because due to his misconduct he soon had to be transferred to another class.

Other than him, she could remember a couple of other boys that had all been familiar with her more popular sister and they all wished to get closer to Alice to get to her.

She hadn't minded that much back then, she was just grateful to have people talking to her.

One in boy particular, a dark haired one in a grade above her, William… He had been her first crush and she was an absolute little girl about it all.

At the time, she kind of knew he only hung out with her to get to her sister, but every minute she spent with him had been enough and she was pretty sure she couldn't have been more obvious about her little puppy crush she had on him.

Joker didn't like him.

The redhead had insisted that he wasn't worth her time and Alice should spend her time on other things.

Alice felt foolish for not really listening to the underlying foreboding tone that his words had held now.

In short, the next time William had come over to visit and he, Alice, and Lorina were all going down the staircase of their home, Alice could only watch in mortification as Joker 'bumped' into her with enough force for her to crash into William who had been walking ahead of her, and the young boy had been sent painfully tumbling down the staircase.

His ankle had been fractured as a result and Alice had been given the ultimate lecture from both her parents on her actions.

Though she tried desperately to convince them that Joker had been the cause, every time she brought his name up, it was as though the intensity of her parents' anger became stronger.

Afterwards, she could remember Lorina beckoning to her to her own room where her elder sister comforted her past her tears of frustration and sadness.

Out of everyone in her family it was as though Lorina was the only one that believed her when she said Joker was a real entity. Even little Edith made her loose claims on how Alice was childish for still having an imaginary friend and sometimes Alice was sure that behind her back, her young sibling taunted her about it with her little friends.

Lorina soothed her and told her that if Joker was around and he truly was causing Alice trouble, he wasn't the type of friend she needed to have around. She informed her that she needed to move on past him and get more dependable friends that didn't get her into situations like that.

Alice at the time had always been so hung up on her sister's advice and she could only nod though she was a bit afraid on how to tell him that.

"Just tell him you don't need him around you anymore." Lorina had informed her gently, her hand rubbing at the top of Alice's light brown hair softly, "You don't need someone negative like that in your life, Alice."

Alice had gone off to her room right after that and tried her hardest keep her sister's word in mind for her to do so, but she found herself unable to even create the scenario in her thoughts.

When she had entered her room, the redhead stood by her dresser counter, his arms folded over his chest while he watched her plainly with no sign of recognizable emotions.

She could remember feeling fear of his reaction because she knew he had definitely heard it all. Her hands clutched at her pink bed sheets tightly and she kept her gaze locked at her lap for she knew if she looked into his eye that she would probably end up unable to speak.

"Lorina says you have to leave." The nine year old softly informed him, "I'm sorry…"

A beat of silence passed by after her sentence and it was as though her last word was beginning to echo in her own mind. That had been enough to make Alice feel herself growing anxious at his reaction.

He was going to be mad.

The room was still quiet and the only sound that had managed to reach her ears at that moment had been her racing heart that was still pounding in anticipation for what he'd have to say.

A few more seconds went by and then another and another.

Alice had then swallowed a lump in her throat before she hesitantly brought her head up to glance over where he stood, his scarlet eye hardened at that moment with such seriousness she had never seen in him before. A smile was on his face, one that didn't fit him in the slightest and it gave her goose bumps just looking at it.

Fear.

She could remember the bone chilling fear she felt because she was so afraid of what he was going to do.

She had no idea if he was going get mad and hurt her, hurt Lorina, hurt _anyone_.

Alice could recall the jumping feeling in heart when he first spoke, his voice so deep and smooth that it practically made the whole room rumble—she wouldn't have been surprised if it actually did, honestly.

"Lorina wants me to go, but do you?"

The question had taken her by surprise back then and Alice found her hands beginning to tremble ever so slowly as a frown made its way to her lips and tears began to well up in her eyes.

Desperately, she began wiping at her eyes with the sleeves of her PJs and she hoped it wasn't too obvious how petrified she was.

As though reading her thoughts, Joker hummed, a tone Alice was familiar with as a nursery rhyme that both used to sing together when she was five.

"You're really afraid of me, aren't you?" He chuckled, though there was no humor in it, his scarlet reflected how negatively he viewed the current situation at hand and he brought his fist together his mouth to catch his chuckle once more, "I'm hurt. You know you don't have to be scared of me, silly Alice."

"I'm sorry." Alice apologized, her voice was shaky from her tearful display earlier and she criticized herself inwardly for evening speaking in the first place.

Joker began walking toward her bedside now and Alice allowed her eyes to dull the instant he took a seat.

"You seem to forget that everything I do is based off of your own desire." His hand extended outward and Alice winced when his index finger poked at her chest lightly, "Whatever your little heart wants is what I do. I'm practically your little faithful servant, so I'd never even dream of hurting you."

His smile was charming and his eyes actually met it in terms of warmth. Alice now felt herself ease a bit though she did grow a bit more puzzled.

"I didn't want you to hurt William or anyone else! So that's not true!" She protested lightly, she didn't want to raise her voice too highly lest her sister or one of her parents enter.

The very thought of her heart secretly being that dark kind of scared her. She never thought of herself as a mean person like that and she didn't want to believe herself to be either.

Joker soothingly took her hand; his skin was as warm and real as ever. It made it harder for her to believe he was just all a part of her imagination.

"Well, that's true. Though as much as I am to follow the orders of your desires, I do have emotions of my own and sometimes I admit to being childish in those respects."

His words had been brutally honest and Alice in that moment couldn't help but be entirely disgusted in a sense from how he could admit to being a bad person. To actually hurt people just because he felt childish? Wasn't he supposed to be an adult?

"So tell me then, Alice," He continued now with his garnet eye sparkling in anticipation, "Do you truly want me to go?"

The feeling of her throat suddenly clamming up in anxiety was so clear to her whenever she thought back on that moment. She could remember feeling so nervous beneath his gaze while she tried to croak out an answer.

"Yes…"

"You're lying." His retort was so instant and strong that Alice had found her eyes widening in surprise.

Joker let out a loud laugh, his hand going to his mouth while he watched her in mirth, "Alice, you're supposed to be a good girl! How bad, lying straight to my face!"

Alice frowned, her eyebrows furrowing, "Joker, please just go. I'm not lying; I really want you to leave." Her tone had been incredibly soft spoken and she knew it was all because she was still fearful of him growing angry and lashing out in some way. "You hurt William and you got me into trouble, he's probably in a lot of pain right now because of you…"

Then she remembered Joker's eyes lighting up in amusement, a grin breaking out on his lips that made the young girl blush, "Are you trying to convince me or yourself?"

His words had caused her head to shake rapidly, "Just leave! I'm done with this and you! Please, just _leave_!"

A moment of silence had then enveloped the room after her words and a couple of seconds later she felt Joker's hand leave hers and right after his weight on her bed was lifted.

She had then watched up as he stood his face bright with charisma,

"Fair enough. Though I do hope you remember what I told you before." His eye shimmered with an emotion she couldn't quite place, "Can't wait to see you again, Alice."

Just like that, he disappeared out of view as though he had never even been there in the first place.

It had taken Alice about the rest of the night to recover from their exchange and she hadn't been too sure on if he was gone for good, however he hadn't showed up the next time she found herself alone in her room.

Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months and Joker had yet to appear before her once again, though his departing words and that smile on his face remained etched her mind whenever she found her thoughts trailing back to him whenever she was alone in her room.

Her tenth birthday rolled around and there was still no sign of him, as did her eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth and by the time her seventeenth birthday came by, Joker was practically a long and forgotten memory of the past.

Eighteen was a strong year of her life for her filled with so many changes.

Both her mom and Lorina had died within a year of one another, leaving Alice alone with her father that soon became a distant workaholic and her little sister Edith left to live with their grandparents, so for the most part Alice found herself completely alone.

She didn't really mind it, she liked being alone. It was the feeling of being lonely that she couldn't bear and for the most part she tried to keep that feeling at bay by submerging herself in reading books constantly as a means to escape reality.

Fantasy and adventure were her favorite genres with horror and mystery following closely behind.

She couldn't help but enjoy that chilling feeling she always got whenever she was reading one of her suspense books in her room alone as though she were being watched. It made the experience all the more real.

She was also entering her final year of high school that year and she had already been admitted into the top university of her choosing. True to herself when she first entered High School, she made a vow to never date and to keep her focus entirely on her studies. Now that she was basically done with her secondary education, she recently found herself struck with Cupid's arrow as it seemed every day after school she found herself going back to the bookshop a walks away from her home primarily because of the grumpy, long haired co-owner of the store that was immensely kinder than he was willing to let on.

They were already somewhat friends, but she wanted so badly to be more and she was determined to do so by becoming closer to him.

Now, focusing entirely on the present Alice found her hands slipping into her jacket's pockets snuggly as she pulled open the transparent bookstore door, allowing the little bell at the top to give a chime to give awareness of her arrival.

Stepping inside, she glanced over the counter and when spotted the short haired man busy typing away at one of the computers she smiled widely and gave a wave, "Hey, Mr. Ringmarc is Julius here today?"

The golden eyed man blinked and glanced away from his screen to give the girl a polite look, "Oh, hello Alice." He returned the beam graciously, "Yes, he is… I believe he's in storage; we got a new shipment of books earlier, so he's probably sorting through them." He informed while gesturing down to the back of the store.

Alice nodded her head, "Thank you!"

Already being familiar with the whole store and having a majority of the employees on a first name basis with her, she found her usual spot near the far corner of the room that was always vacant, as though reserved just for her.

Setting down her small satchel she opened it up and retrieved her hard cover book that she had bought just the other day though she was already a bit more than halfway through with it.

Normally she always just sat and waited until Julius came around and the two would talk with another either about books or just their daily life casually. She was sure that one of the employees already went down to inform him of her attendance in the shop and she couldn't wait to speak with him.

He really was one of the highlights of her day.

"Is this seat taken?"

Not wanting to be rude, Alice shook her head, her eyes scanning the words in the novel thoroughly.

"Thank you."

The voice was deep and obviously belonged to a male and Alice didn't allow her eyes to leave her book though she did find her eyebrows knitting slightly in confusion when she heard the small squeaking noise the chair directly across from her gave as it was pulled outward for the man to sit.

Of all the empty seats in the bookshop and he chooses near her?

She knew Julius would probably be uncomfortable sitting with a random stranger, but she hoped he wouldn't mind too much.

"What book are you reading?"

"It's called Halaexo." She answered smoothly, her eyes briefly cutting upward to get a look at the newcomer in curiosity.

When her eyes did, she found nothing but fear and shock running its way throughout her whole body, like a paralyzing drug her body was frozen in place as her mind attempted to frantically register what exactly she was seeing.

The face was entirely unmistakable, even the eye patch to his left eye was the same with the same yellow design that Alice had been so accustomed to seeing so many years previous. His clothes weren't like that of a ring master and he didn't have the same jester hat that the brunette had once loved to pull at, instead he was dressed so _casually_, it kind of spooked her out.

Was this really happening?

The redhead didn't appear to notice her discomfort and absorbing reaction to his presence and he smiled charmingly, "Halaexo? Sounds interesting. What's it about if you don't mind me asking?"

She found herself unable to truly speak as she willed for herself to let some of the questions that were raging within her mind to come out.

He wasn't real, he was imaginary.

He hadn't been around for so long, so why was he back?

This didn't make any sense.

Alice could hear her heartbeat picking up while the lump that seemed to be forming in her throat grew bigger, "I-I don't understand…"

Joker blinked, his head cocking to the side in a rather cute way, "You look like you're halfway through the book but you don't understand what's going on in it? How odd." He gave a smile, "But it does sound like something you'd do."

A pain of nausea rippled throughout her stomach and she stood up instantly before she began packing up her book into her satchel as quickly as she could.

The memories she got of him hurting those around her were flooding back to her mind and she couldn't stand the eerie feeling that executed throughout her body at the thought of him doing it again.

This time she was older and she was smarter. She wouldn't let him do anything like that again this time—but he wasn't even real, was he?

The though made her pause inwardly for a moment, but she quickly caught herself because her main priority wasn't debating on his existence, it was getting away from him whether or not he was all in her mind or not.

Before she could even begin to walk, he was suddenly ahead of her, his hand grasping at her wrist gently while he gazed down at her and their height difference only made her all the more uneasy.

"Why the rush?" He inquired with a smile, "We haven't seen each other in so long and you try to leave so soon?" He gave a small pout and the expression in all honesty only highlighted exactly how attractive he was.

She could never really remember him being so tall back when she was younger and she certainly didn't remember him appearing so visually pleasing either.

It was almost embarrassing how she was noticing all of this now.

"I'm sorry… I just…" She was at a loss of what to say now as she attempted to wiggle out of his grip.

Sensing her discomfort in his hold, the redhead immediately released her.

"I've missed you, Alice." He pleasantly informed her as his eye closed and his expression melted into that of genuine kindness.

It was strange now. Anyone that walked up would only be seeing her talk to herself and they'd surely think she was crazy.

Uncertain, Alice cleared her throat, "Please leave. I'm not a child anymore, I don't need you around." As her words were low, she slung her satchel over her head and she gave him an apologetic look, "If people see me, they'll think I'm insane for talking to thin air, so just go again." Her command came out a bit more strongly and forceful toward the end while she motioned with her wrist for him to 'shoo.'

Joker gave a chuckle, "Humans toss the word insane around so loosely, it's almost sad."

"Joker, leave now."

Ignoring her, the redhead took a step toward her with his looming figure making her frown openly, "You're special for being able to see my kind and you're incredibly lucky I was the one to claim you rather than my brother. I don't think he would have been as patient with you or your family in the beginning."

Confused, Alice watched at him with her lips now moving into a scowl, "What are you talking about?" She took a step backward, her heart now beginning to pick up speed and her face starting to heat up, "Joker, I'm not kidding around with you, you need to leave again."

"You tell me to 'leave again' but it's funny because I never really left in the first place."

Alice blinked as the man took hold of her hand and lightly gave the back of it a kiss, "You never wanted me to go so I never did. I was always around, Alice; you just didn't give it much thought."

"You're starting to creep me out, stop it!" She exclaimed while grabbing her hand back, her teal eyes watching down at him frantically, "I don't know what you are but—"

"Don't tell me you still think I'm just a part of your imagination." The man folded his arms across his chest and gave a tsking noise, a look of pure amusement coming across his handsome features, "For a pessimistic woman, you sure place a lot of importance in yourself."

"If you're not a part of my imagination, then what the hell are you?" She couldn't hold herself back from cursing, her fear and frustration now starting to intertwine.

The male grinned openly, "We don't have a name as far as human terms go, however I can tell you that I'm never leaving you for as long as you breathe on this earth." His head inclined to the side a bit, "If I remember correctly, you didn't have much opposition to that when you were younger."

Still not fully believing what was happening, Alice ran an aggravated hand throughout her hair.

"I do not have the time for this. If this is your idea of a joke, it's really not funny."

"Aww, you always loved my jokes when you were younger."

Grunting, Alice watched as a pair of girls passed by her table and she paused for a moment, hoping neither of them would stare at her or openly remark on how weird she was for speaking to herself, however both of them kept walking and speaking to one another as though nothing were off.

Confused for a moment, Alice found her hands dropping to her sides while she inwardly pondered on if the girls had even seen her there in the first place.

"Can you please just leave?" She bit her bottom lip and turned to him desperately, "Before I may not have wanted you to go, but now I really do." She could remember how he said he'd always follow her heart's desire and she was more than sure that her heart's desire was for him to not exist anywhere near her, so it'd have to work.

Joker calmly watched down at her, "You say that, but even up until now you're lying at me straight through your teeth." His hand reached to cup under her chin and he leaned down to her face closely, his single scarlet eye looking into hers intensely, "Silly Alice, I know you better than anyone."

Alice found herself wincing in surprise as his lips came down gently onto hers.

The kiss was soft and his lips were so warm and somewhere in the back of her mind she felt incredibly embarrassed because her own lips were so chapped and cold; however she pushed past that thought while she violently wiggled away from him.

"Oh, I see I'm interrupting something."

Alice felt her eyes grow wider as she turned over to see Julius standing, his blue eyes critically observing the two of them with his arms folded over his chest.

The brunette instantly pulled away from the male that still had her chin held in his grasp and nothing but short but despair and dread erupted throughout Alice's being as she prepared to call out to him to defend herself but she found her lips unable to move apart.

The sensation instilled fear into her body while she moved both of her hands to her mouth desperately.

Joker gave a small chuckle, "Sorry, we didn't think anyone would see us back here." His tone was so cheerful and carefree that anyone that saw them would assume that they were truly just a normal couple that had been caught doing a bit too much PDA in a school hallway.

"I see. Well, my apologies on that. I guess I'll speak to you later when you aren't busy, Alice." The long haired male stated frigidly before he turned to leave, his steps practically leaving an echo throughout Alice's ears as she watched him go,

This was rapidly becoming a nightmare as she still found herself paralyzed and unable to physically open her mouth to speak. With as much fear as she had, she hadn't had any time to notice that Julius had not only seen Joker, he also was able to hear him as well.

Joker turned his attention back to Alice pleasantly as he placed one of his index fingers back on her lips before he removed it and when he did, Alice found herself gasping for breath as her lips were able to part once again.

Nicely, the redhead smiled down at her, "I told you before that I don't like sharing you. Whenever you make friends, they hog you and I never get your attention, it really makes me angry." His hand moved to stroke her cheek lightly, "I won't hurt him if you're worried about that. Just make sure you don't become too friendly with him or else I'll have to intervene."

"You're crazy! Don't touch me!" She hissed while smacking his hand from her face.

He blinked his eye as she took a step backward from him.

Alice could feel her body threatening to erupt into trembles of fear but she resisted as strongly as she could as she glared up at him strongly, "You were some imaginary friend I had when I was younger, I don't know if you're some kind of demon or spirit or what, but whatever you are, I'm going to get _rid _of you."

She prepared to turn on her heel but as she did so she found her vision warping dangerously as her surroundings in the bookshop slowly began to dull and the distant slamming sound of metal clashing began to fill her eyes and the images of dark grey bars and steel prison cells began to formulate her gaze.

Too afraid to move, like a rabbit caught in a corner, she found her feet stopping as she looked around herself completely at a loss as to what to do.

"H-how?" She stammered out in confusion her body rotating around in a wild attempt to make sense of what had just occurred. She took a step backward and a low squeaking noise nearly made her jump as she glanced down to view a doll that was adorned in a bright blue dress smiling up at her. Now that she looked around, there were other toys littered around the ground even though she looked like she was in a prison.

Stuff like this couldn't happen, it just wasn't possible.

All at once, she found herself pushed up against one of the stone cold walls, her eyes fluttering open widely in an attempt to make sense of where she was and what exactly was happening.

Joker was now upon her, his outfit having changed to that of a prison warden as he cornered her up against the wall firmly, the smile on his face everlasting.

Fearfully, she watched up at him, desperate to get some kind of answer on what just happened, but before she could speak, one of his legs came down between hers on the wall before he brought his knee upward, trapping her in against his body.

"Silly, Alice." He breathed out with a darkening eye, "I honestly didn't want to have to bring you here, but I guess this is the only way to properly deal with you."

"Joker, I don't know how you're doing this, but stop…" Her words came out shakily as he brought his face to the crook of her neck intimately and she closed her eyes, hoping desperately that when she opened them next everything will have all just been a nightmare and she'd wake up in her room in cold sweat but breathing out in relief.

"I don't think you get it." Joker whispered into her neck darkly and Alice found a couple of tears welling up in her eyes as his hand began trailing up her leg dangerously, "You live a pathetic life. Everyone you care for and everyone that loves you either ends up dying or leaving you. You're _always _lonely and as long as you're feeling lonely, whether you admit to it or not, I'll _always _be there for you." He bit down on her skin and she gave a low squeak from behind his hand.

"You need me Alice." The redhead stated with a chuckle before he pulled back to look at her in the eye, "Without me, you're as good as dead."

**-.-**

**I actually don't know where the hell this idea came from but meh. It probably has a hell of a lot of plotholes because I didn't really think much of it when I wrote it but meep**

**I guess in explanation Joker is a kind of demon that traps people based on their loneliness/misfortune they're destined to have and shit idk when he realized Alice was a kind of person that could actually see him he got interested in her and a bit possessive (This is why he decided to pop back up when Alice had plans on asking Julius out because he kinda knew that if Julius and her do the frick frack Alice won't be lonely anymore, ya feel?)**

**This has been incredibly weak and a waste of 6k words but hey, it adds to my NaNoWriMo amount so holla.**

**Hope it was enjoyable.**

**(Omg for clarification this is a oneshot haha)**


	2. Chapter 2

**I said this was a oneshot, but I lied. I am a liar and I am sorry, I'm trash.**

**Lmao, aside from that, last chapter ended pretty abruptly and I was kind of sad that Joker and Alice didn't interact as much as I wanted, not only that there wasn't much to him plaguing her life and what not.**

**Anyhow, enjoy!**

**-.-**

Alice shot up from her bed with a loud cry of desperation.

The sound was short lived as she quickly came to realize that she was in a calmer environment.

Lowly, the hum of the central air conditioner hummed overhead, sending in waves of cool air within her large and dark room.

Moving a hand to her chest, the brunette found her breathing to be incredibly heavy and her body still suffering from an overbearing intensity that had her feeling the slightest bit light headed. Her eyelids dulled considering while her gaze remained down at her lap that was still draped over by her dove grey colored sheets.

A dream…

It had all been a dream.

Her heartbeat progressively began to slow down and the teen allowed one of her hands to extend to the side of her head.

She could feel herself threatening to become embarrassed due to the fact that she literally screamed herself out of her slumber, but it quickly subsided when she came to remember that she was in her room and in her home. With the way the Sun's friendly yellow rays were pouring inside of her room from her curtain covered windows, it had to be at least nine am and her father had definitely left for work long ago, so she didn't have to worry about explaining a nightmare to anyone.

Alice brought one of her hands over to rub the remaining bits of sleepiness from her eyes away from the moment she felt her anxiety begin to fully settle down. She was a bit startled when her fingers wiped away at small droplets of tears that had somehow formed at the corners of her eyes.

So apparently the nightmare made her cry.

She supposed it was with good reason. The experience had been so vividly real; it was terrifying even up until now.

What kind of dark and dirty crevice of her mind that little night terror crawled out of, she honestly had no clue. It was so spontaneous and without reason true reason.

Her old imaginary friend appearing out of nowhere, claiming he wasn't going to leave and taking her to some prison like place where he whispered all those dark things to her while kissing at her body…

A shudder rippled throughout her body as one of her hands moved toward her lips before two of her fingers lightly tapped them. She paused, her index finger resting on both her top and bottom lip and her mind began to formulate the sensation of another mouth on top of hers.

When Joker had kissed her in her dream, she could practically still feel his lips on hers almost as though it had really happened.

A spooky feeling transitioned over her body and the long haired brunette tried to shake it off once more as she now went beneath her pillow to retrieve her phone.

Just clicking the home bottom to see the lock screen, she didn't become at all bothered at the lack of notifications that appeared and she was simply greeted with the display picture of her, Lorina, and Edith posing together when they had all been younger.

She didn't have any friends the more she thought about it, so her phone background was never really selfies with anyone like she saw those other boys and girls at school have. Truthfully, she was kind of jealous. Though she was close with Julius, he really didn't seem like the type of person to go behind a phone and take a silly picture with her.

Her mind briefly flashed back to her dream.

Joker had said he'd always be there with her because she was always lonely or something of the sort.

"If that's the case, maybe he can pop up and take a decent selfie with me…" She muttered to herself lowly before she began pulling herself out of her bed, her tone incredibly dry and cynical.

After going in the bathroom to freshen herself up for the morning, she stepped out and prepared to go back into her room for a towel so she could go back and take a shower, however, the sound of pans crashing to the floor downstairs came to her ears and she stopped dead in her tracks.

Her fingers clutched her phone in her hand tightly before she heaved a breath, her mind already on the verge of racing a million miles per hour.

The sound had obviously come from the kitchen.

But there wasn't anybody in the house but her.

Her father always left the house for work before seven am and it well over two hours past that.

Joker's face flickered within her mind and the brunette found her heartbeat picking up just at the thought.

That was silly to think though. He wasn't real. He was _imaginary_.

Her nightmare was getting her worked up and giving her thoughts childlike fears.

Turning her head in the direction of the staircase, she briefly considered her options and although she was well aware that people that usually took her path always ended up dead in scary movies, she kept her courage high before she began making her way to the stairs.

This wasn't a scary movie; this was real life and if someone was seriously in her house, she needed to see so she could call the cops.

Her feet lightly fell down each step with a nearly inaudible thud while her fingers kept a tight hold on her phone and her free hand held the polished wooden railing firmly until she finally reached the bottom. After going around to get to the kitchen, Alice allowed her walk to slow a bit when it became apparent that whoever was in there was muttering something lowly.

Even with her brave thoughts, she couldn't deny the fact that her heart was beginning to pick up speed like crazy.

She also couldn't deny that she was actually hoping it _was _a robber and not someone else… Or _something _else.

The redhead's dark smile came to her conscious and she halted her walk as she was no more but a single step away from the entrance to the kitchen.

Alice couldn't figure out why the nightmare was troubling her so much.

Joker wasn't real and it had only been a dream.

Maybe it was because she just woke up from it and she was still kind of startled…

Catching in her breath, the brunette slowly allowed herself to peek into the kitchen as discreetly as she could manage and the instant she did, she found her eyes widening at the sight of the male within.

"Dad?" She choked out in surprise, her expression clearly matching the tone of voice she used as she now fully stood at the kitchen's entrance to view her father who searching through the fridge for something.

Her dad, Henry, glanced over at her from his position at the refrigerator, his gaze plain and dull in such a way that mirrored that of a lifeless zombie.

His eyes never had emotion in them aside from the rare displays despair and misery he harbored on her mother's death anniversary. It had been so long since she saw happiness or anger or any other kind of feeling in him since her mom passed away.

"Good morning, Alice." He greeted simply before he returned his attention to the fridge.

She watched ahead at him dumbly, her hands gripping at the front of her nightgown uncertainly.

Why wasn't he at work? He never skipped a day.

"Good morning…" The teen lowly responded, her eyebrows still furrowed in confusion, "You have a day off today?" She inquired curiously.

The brown haired man shook his head as he now closed the fridge ahead of him.

This was actually the first time the two of them had spoke directly in such a long time. Even when she had been accepted into her top university earlier in the year, she didn't even tell him because she knew he wouldn't have cared, or at least he wouldn't have showed it.

The two of them lived together in the huge house, yet it always seemed like Alice was alone in it.

"Today we're just starting a couple hours later. I'm actually getting ready to leave now."

Of course that's how it was…

She nodded her head silently as she watched him collect together his papers within his manila envelope before he grabbed a single bottle of water spared her a single glance from over his shoulder, "Goodbye." His words were spoken so flat that the female could only turn her eyes away.

"Yeah… Bye…" Alice lowly stated and not too long after that did she hear the front door open and close, the sound seemingly echoing throughout all of the house.

Her mom had died when she was fifteen and Lorina when she was sixteen. After two years of putting up with her distant father, she always thought she was used to it, but for some reason this encounter left her feeling slightly drained.

Those words would probably be the last ones they'd say to each other for a week or so until they bumped into one another in the house by chance once more for a couple seconds.

How depressing was that?

It never really bothered her before, so why was she even pondering on it now?

Sighing to herself, she allowed herself to walk further into the kitchen, her bare feet hitting the cool white tile gently while she made her way toward the cupboard that held the dishes.

After grabbing a bowl and then rummaging through one of the drawers for a spoon, she got to the pantry for a box a cereal before she began pouring it consistently.

Maybe the reason she was thinking about it now was because of her dream…

Settling the cereal down, she made her way to the fridge in order to retrieve the milk from within.

Perhaps that had been her subconscious' way of telling her she truly was lonely.

That was a really gloomy thought.

Her hands steadily dispense the milk onto her corn flakes until it was at an appropriate level to her liking before she placed it back down on the counter.

Joker had been her imaginary friend because she was lonely as a child. Now that she was older, her brain was definitely telling her to get some friends and the use of Joker was just connecting everything.

With her teachings from Psychology class, she supposed that made enough sense in terms of dream interpretations.

Considering her options, she supposed she could always try to move things along with Julius. He seemed like he liked her enough and the thought of them becoming boyfriend and girlfriend put too much schoolgirl glee in her than she was willing to admit.

She didn't even have to stop there… At school, she could always talk to more people. The Tweedle twins were social butterflies and they often tried befriending her, but her shy and awkward nature usually shut them out.

Loneliness was a choice and she didn't have to choose it.

She had the power to not succumb to it.

"Good morning, Alice."

Alice's entire body came to a nearly inhumane stop. Her hand had now been in the midst of picking up a spoonful of corn flakes for her mouth to consume while she had been slightly hunched over the counter to catch the utensil more easily.

Now, she was just frozen in place, her ears unmistakably heard those few words and now immensely attentive, practically warming up despite the wave of cold fear that shot throughout her blood as she stood in place soundlessly.

That voice was…

"It's a Saturday… You know, compared to most teenagers, you wake up pretty early on weekends." There was a chuckle at the end of the words and Alice's body tensed with each sound of the chuckle that undoubtedly came from behind her.

She had to be hallucinating because he wasn't real.

When she turned around, she'd see no one there. Everything was all in her head.

Slowly, Alice allowed her body to rotate around in order to see behind her and when she did so, she felt her terror skyrocket throughout her body along with a vague sense of déjà vu.

What exactly was happening here?

It had all been a _dream_.

Joker wasn't real—

"Ah, you look so cute in your nightgown!" Joker praised, his scarlet eye sparkling honestly from his spot seated at the kitchen's island counter. He leaned forward on it, his hands holding the sides of his face up as his elbows remained propped up on the marble surface.

Unlike what her memories had been able to pull up, he wasn't dressed normally and was back to his old jester outfit that she had been so accustomed to seeing him in as a child. The sight brought a sickening wave of nausea to her stomach as a hand flung over her mouth, almost as though to catch some vomit that wouldn't rise up from her stomach.

At this rate, she really did feel like throwing up.

Joker didn't appear to notice her discomfort at all and if he did, he certainly didn't show it. Instead he smiled politely and tilted his head to the side, an action that caused the ornaments that dangled from his hat to give several jingles that filled the dead silent air around them.

"You've really grown up, haven't you? I don't know if I should feel proud, old, or excited."

His words went lost for the most part on her as she felt herself back up against the counter behind her.

Alice's eyes shut tightly for a brief moment and when she allowed them to flutter open once more, she had expected the sight of Joker to disappear, however he remained in his seat at the island counter with his pleasant, nearly dreamy expression innocently.

If this was all really happening, then did that mean that her dream truly _hadn't _been a dream?

The nausea in her stomach returned and this time it seemed intensified tenfold.

She could feel her head starting to become increasingly light while the vivid memories of Joker pinning her in that cold and barren prison began hitting her mind all at once.

"Y-You can't be real…" The brunette muttered out in disbelief as she finally caught herself, one of her hands moved to her chest and she watched at him firmly, "You're imaginary. You were my imaginary friend. You're not—"

Her words came to an end as the older man, still as attractive as she remembered, smiled at her sweetly, "Are you trying to convince me or yourself?"

Alice stopped, her eyes now becoming wide.

Those words were all too familiar.

A weighted silence fell over the both of them once more and Alice couldn't find any words within herself to respond with, her cheeks now beginning to warm up despite her situation.

If he wasn't imaginary, then what exactly was he?

If he wasn't a figment of her imagination, why had he been following her around and plaguing her for those few years when she was younger and why had he decided to pop back up into her life now?

She didn't understand it at all.

With a blink, Joker's spot at the island counter had been transferred and Alice found her breath hitching in her throat as he was now upon her, his presence standing before her eerily similar to how he had her caged in within her supposed dream last night.

At this point in time she didn't even know if it was a dream or not.

This time, his body didn't spook her out as it had before… He didn't feel threatening… He felt strangely _comforting_.

Alice couldn't help but wince when one of his hands moved to touch at her cheek gently, his thumb softly stroking at her left cheek rhythmically in a way that had her stiffly standing in place.

Even up until now his touch was still so warm and it still felt incredibly real.

However, all this time he had been the one touching her. If _she _touched him, maybe it'd be different.

She willed one of her hands to rise up and with the smallest trembles, she managed to get her left hand rising upward, her eyes didn't leave his face as she slowly allowed her hand to grasp at his.

His skin was warm to the touch and she nearly jumped when she realized how solid it was.

She could feel him. She could feel him as she could anything else in the kitchen, anything else in the house, anything else in the _world_.

Joker couldn't possibly be imaginary unless Alice was truly that crazy and she certainly didn't want to think of herself in that kind of light.

The female's body began to quake a bit at this new resolution while her own cognition attempted to make sense of everything developing before her as it could.

On the other hand, her incentive to openly reach out and make physical contact was greeted pleasantly by the garnet eyed man that now appeared to grow in positive spirits from the touch they mutually shared with one another.

"You already know that I missed you… Though I'm not too sure if you missed me as much." He warmly watched into her eyes and Alice's heart skipped a beat with how genuine his gaze appeared over hers. His red hair draped downward as he teasingly lowered his head closer to hers, his smile not fading, "Didn't you miss this? The two of us being together and having fun with one another. You never felt lonely with me by your side. Why are you trying to push me away now that I'm back? I'll take care of you in a way no human can."

His use of the word 'human' brought a distant chill throughout her body as she now attempted to shake him away from her furiously.

The air around her was becoming vastly suffocating far too fast; she didn't like it at all.

Obediently, Joker raised his head upward to give her space when her discomfort became apparent and from the instant there was a little more degree of space between the two of them Alice glared up at him cautiously while she gripped the counter behind her.

She didn't know how she was supposed to go about this with him.

Clearly he had some sort of other worldly abilities if her 'dream' was anything to go by and the thought of ending up on his bad side and within the prison petrified her.

That sounded far too farfetched though.

Supernatural abilities only existed inside of stories.

Alice felt a lump well up in the pit of her throat, her mouth now beginning to feel incredibly dry. It seemed like her life was rapidly becoming one of those supernatural stories that she loved to read and she wasn't so sure if she liked it all too much.

"Joker… What exactly are you?" She lowly breathed out, her teal irises staring into his blood saturated ones dully, unwilling to look away.

How crazy would it be if this truly was all in her head once more?

Any minute now she could rise from her bed screaming as she had this morning, crying because her imaginary friend had been in her dreams.

Joker kept his smile as he now removed his hand from her cheek and took a single large step back from her, thus creating a bit of space between the two of them.

The redhead placed his hand behind his back for a couple seconds before he returned it in front of him, now revealing a single dark red carnation flower within his grasp. He held his hand forward in offering to her for her to retrieve it and Alice found herself watching at it surprise.

She could remember him performing magic tricks like that when she was younger, but now for some reason it just felt odd to her.

When it then seemed to register to him that she wouldn't accept it, he didn't lose his smile and instead walked back forward to her in order to place at it at her ear. Alice simply allowed him to do as he pleased, her mind still warping around everything too quickly to really respond.

After he adjusted it, Joker gazed down at her with a small laugh, "Doesn't this bring back memories?" At the end of his question, he kept his beam pleasant before he held up a finger, "Alice, I can't force you to believe anything that you don't want to, so I'll say this once. My kind has no name translatable to any known human language."

Distantly, somewhere in the back of her mind she could remember him saying that before and she silently nodded.

She half expected him to not continue, however he went on nicely, his tone still polite, "I apologize for how childishly I lashed out at you yesterday. It really was foolish of me to do. I let my jealousy control my actions because it was my first time seeing you in so long and well…" Joker trailed off sheepishly, his eyebrows inclining in a rather anxious way, "I can only beg for your forgiveness at this point."

Before Alice could reply, she found herself jumping as the nearly monstrous buzzing of her phone vibration going off on the counter behind her.

Her head immediately whirled around to view it in surprise with a hand to her chest in a feeble attempt to calm her startled heart.

She had forgotten she even brought her cell phone downstairs with her…

It wasn't until the teen picked up the phone into her grasp that she came to realize she was shaking slightly. Forcing herself to remain calm, she unlocked the device before going to the messages.

_From: Julius_

_Call or message me back when you get the chance._

Alice's ocean colored eyes widened a bit after she evaluated the message, her eyes reading over the single sentence at least three times over before her brain started to fully comprehend the meaning behind it.

Julius wanted her to call him… He rarely ever messaged her first and usually when he did; it was because Alice hadn't done so in a while.

Entirely eager, she pulled up his contact info because pressing the button to call his number.

Only the tiniest smidge anxious, she bit her bottom lip as the sound of the dialing entered her ears.

She wondered what he wanted and while her thoughts drifted to that, her eyes fell on the sight of her forgotten corn flakes that still remained in the bowl of milk floating purposelessly.

"Alice?"

The moment the male's rough and deep voice came up on the other line, Alice perked up, a smile making its way to her face rather foolishly as she stared ahead of herself absentmindedly, "Oh, hey Julius! You messaged me pretty early. Is something the matter?"

There was a part of her that wondered if he was going to ask her out on a date or something of the sort.

It was a naïve notion and she quickly tried to stomp it away lest she end up hurting her own feelings by getting her hopes up for anything.

Nothing could have prepared her for Julius' next words.

"_Is something the matter? _Alice, are you serious?"

The steel edge in his tone made her freeze, her eyes widening in surprise.

Julius was usually cold and could come off as rude, but this was clearly different. He sounded more agitated than usual… Maybe even a bit angry?

"I'm sorry? What?"

The male on the other line gave a sigh, this time it was more tired than anything, "I've been trying to call and message you all night. The least you could have done was get back to me so I knew you were okay."

Alice's eyes blinked once while she moved her phone to her other ear. It now came to her attention that her face had grown warmer and she attempted to keep her voice stable, "Calling and messaging me all night…? That can't be right. I didn't have any missed notifications when I checked my phone this morning." She stopped her words for a second to replay Julius' sentence in her mind once more before she cleared her throat, "If I was okay? Why would—"

Her words were cut off as Julius intervened, his tone of voice now suddenly softer and Alice could practically imagine how his exasperated his face looked, "I said _trying _to call you. Your phone wasn't in service ever since yesterday afternoon. It was like your line was dead when I tried contacting you and even my text messages didn't go through. I apologize if I sound annoying or clingy to you, it's truly not my intention, it's just that after you fainted so suddenly yesterday, I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

The brunette's body easily intertwined with that of paralysis as Julius' words came to an end.

Silently, she clutched her phone, her eyebrows beginning to furrow in confusion as she attempted to process everything to a degree of logic in her psyche.

"After I fainted? I didn't…" She trailed off unsurely, her voice deadly low, practically as though she weren't speaking at all.

She didn't faint yesterday? She certainly didn't remember anything like that happening and she was pretty sure she'd remember if she blacked out or something...

Just like that, her memories of Joker first appearing to her at the bookstore before she ended up in the prison-like place shot to her mind and the female nearly dropped her phone from her grasp in realization.

Although she wasn't sure exactly what happened, she was pretty sure it was all connected.

It just came back to her that Joker was still in the kitchen with her.

That awareness slammed into her conscious similar to that of a car collision on her body to the point that Alice nearly dropped her phone from her hand, her body now beginning to still up in fear.

How did she manage to forget his presence so quickly? It wasn't as though him being there wasn't a big deal at the moment.

It was foolish of her to just so recklessly talk to Julius on the phone with him there, she was really so thoughtless.

Not turning around, Alice inhaled a breath in an effort to calm herself and though it was mostly for null, she still attempted to keep herself level headed.

"Alice? Are you still there?"

Julius' sudden voice startled her for a brief second; however she quickly got over it. Pushing a piece of her hair behind her hair idly, Alice tapped her foot on the tile apprehensively, "I-I'm fine now, I guess. I just… I… Um, Julius, listen. Are you going to be at the shop later or something? I just, I kind of want to talk to you about a couple of things if it isn't too much trouble…" Her words were tripping amongst themselves and with each thing that bypassed her lips; the female could feel a chilling fear threatening to overtake her.

"I'm on my way there to start my shift right now. Feel free to stop by whenever you want. However, I don't advise you to be walking about after you just fainted."

Even throughout everything, he was still concerned for her wellbeing. The very idea of it despite her situation brightened her up slightly as she nodded with a small anxious smile, "I'll be on my way now. Don't worry, I'll be fine. See you then."

"Right."

Alice removed the phone from her ear, her lungs exhaling a large breath that she hadn't even been aware that she was holding.

The overbearing feeling of nausea was tightening around her chest and stomach and she didn't want to turn around at all.

Turning around meant facing him.

She couldn't remain trapped against the corner all day and she'd have to face him eventually, it was a fact.

Now pushing away her fears as strongly as she could, Alice turned her heady over her shoulder in order to catch sight of the redhead that had previously been standing not more than three steps away from her.

He was gone.

Alice blinked her eyes; their teal gaze now glancing around the kitchen in search of the young man that was nowhere in sight.

"Joker…?" She reluctantly voiced out with her hands gripping the bottom of her nightgown, her steps now beginning to take her to the exit of the kitchen.

Where could he possibly have gone without her hearing anything?

Unless he truly didn't exist.

As the teen began making her way to the staircase, she swiftly allowed her feet to ascend upward, her thoughts now trying to erase everything Joker related away.

She had wanted to go to Julius and talk to him about it, but what if she really was just crazy?

After getting into her room, the female shut the door gently right before she turned to lock it for a reason unbeknown to the more rational half of her mind.

Locking a door wouldn't save her from something that either existed primarily in her head or had strange abilities to the extent Joker apparently possessed—if he was even real that is.

Bringing her hand upward to view her phone once more, she walked over to her bed to take a seat.

Thoughtfully, she considered texting Julius first to kind of hint at the problem, but she quickly stopped herself, her eyes now becoming dull.

Julius would probably stop talking to her the second he heard anything about an imaginary friend and these strange 'hallucinations' she was having. Alice herself wasn't even sure what was real and what wasn't at this point, why did she even think about dragging him into the mix with her?

God, she didn't know what to do.

In frustration she ran both of her hands through her hair, a loud groan escaping her body and she threw herself back to lie down on her bed.

Alice's body bounced briefly on the mattress as her vision was overtaken with the view of the cream painted ceiling above her.

Was she supposed to check herself in with a therapist or something?

The thought of suffering from psychosis was terrifying, she was far from being insane, yet this was all so…

Bringing her hand over to view her phone once more, she held it over her head and pressed the Home button in order to light it up once more and she prepared to slide it to unlock, but stopped herself as she viewed her lock screen drearily.

The picture was so old. It was the three of them back at their grandparents' place when Alice had to be around twelve or so.

Her eyes trailed over to Lorina and she found her heart swelling up miserably before she shut her eyes tightly.

She missed her sister so much. If Lorina was here, she'd know exactly what was going on and what to do. Not only that, Alice would be able to tell her everything without a fear of being judged because Lorina was just that understanding to her.

But no…

Lorina was gone and Alice had no one to confide in.

She was all alone.

It seemed like her thoughts kept going in a circle with all of that.

"Is this your way of trying to go back to sleep?"

Alice's eyes fluttered open and as she did so, she found her vision entirely dominated by Joker's face.

The smile on his lips was everlasting and his one visible eye gleamed in nothing but pure curiosity while he leaned down to her, their foreheads only about a foot apart.

She didn't know how many times he was going to do this before she got over the jump scare he gave her when he did it.

Joker appeared to notice that his appearance startled her as he straightened himself up and Alice flew off of her bed to the stand on the opposite side from him, her hand to her heart while she glowered at him cautiously.

"Don't do that!"

The redhead's arms both remained neatly behind his back and he tilted his head to the side, his black jester hat's ornaments following his head movements, "I didn't mean to scare you." Even with that being said he gave a chuckle into his hand briefly, "You were always so easy to scare when you were younger! Doesn't look like much has changed, I'm glad!"

Alice's eyes stared at him, her lips threatening to pull into a mixture of a scowl and a frown while she observed him helplessly.

When he wasn't around it was so easy to just dismiss him off as nothing real…

But when he was right in front of her, he was all too real.

Really, she kept changing her thoughts; nothing was making sense to her at this point in time.

As silence began to float over them once more, she knew she had to find it in herself to speak up once again. For a moment she opened her mouth, but just as she did so, she quickly closed it.

Asking Joker the same repetitive 'What are you' question would just get her the same 'There's no human equivalent' answer.

Taking a breath, Alice kept her stare steady, "Where did you go just now?" She settled on questioning and she was proud of the fact she didn't sound as afraid as she truly was, in fact she sounded pretty strong.

She couldn't be afraid of him.

Joker smiled kindly her way, "Ah, I was gone too long, wasn't I? I apologize. I didn't intend to make you distressed, Alice."

His answer caused her eyes to widen though she couldn't respond as he continued, "I'll stay by your side way more often now. There's no need to worry."

The hairs on the back of her neck began to stand on end with his word and Alice took a step backward before she pointed at him in accusation, "That's exactly what has me worrying! You- You!"

Joker brought his hand upward to point at him black adorned chest, his red eye blinked once with nothing but curiosity seen in the depth of his irises, "Me?"

"Yes, you!" Her eyebrows furrowed while her lips contorted into a scowl, "What do you want from me!?"

As much as she wanted, she couldn't hide the frustration in her voice. Perhaps it was risky to shout at him as annoyed as she was, but she couldn't help it.

He was a problem and she refused to live with him at her side.

Joker lowered his hand now, his smile appearing to widen while his expression became a bit different.

The atmosphere in the room definitely changed and Alice found herself lowering her hand cautiously though her facial expression not losing its negative connotations.

Observantly, she eyed him as he visibly rocked on his heel, his hands both going behind his back once more.

Alice could hear each tap of his boots against the floor of her room. It was rhythmic and somehow felt strangely familiar.

"I don't want anything from you, Alice." He stated simply, his smile not fading.

Alice's lips twitched irritably, "Then why are you—"

Her words came to an abrupt end as Joker suddenly disappeared from sight ahead of her. She didn't even have time to release a gasp before she felt the presence of another being undeniably behind her.

With her body's lagging reaction time, she could only watch ahead with wide eyes as Joker's arms snuggly made their way around her waist and she was able to feel his chin rest on top of her head.

"I don't want anything _from _you. The only thing that I want _is_ you."

It took a moment before his words managed to register with her and when they did, she frantically began wiggling out of his grasp.

She could feel her face heating up tremendously and she couldn't believe she was seriously getting embarrassed at a time like this.

Keeping a glare aimed at him, she protectively held her body after she made her way across the room from him once more, her breathing preparing to become heavy once more as her heart rate began to increase.

This couldn't even be real.

Stuff like this only happened in _books_, not real life.

"W-what the hell are you!? Some kind of vampire trying to pick a bride or something!?" Alice exclaimed, her tone a mixture of both desperation and annoyance.

Joker flashed her a grin, his teeth now settling some degree of fear in the brunette's system after her vampire comment, "I'm not 'trying' to pick anything. I've already claimed you, so you're mine. There really isn't any kind of debate about it." His words were so honestly stated, almost as though it were common sense.

Alice clenched her fists at her sides now, "Sorry to burst your little bubble, but there _is _a debate about it! I'm not yours, I'm not anyone's! So kindly just take your bags and poof out of my life again!"

"Ah, you've still got that spit-fire personality when someone ruffles your feathers I see." He let out a chuckle that made Alice intensify her leer his way.

She had no idea where her anger was coming from and she didn't know if it was good she was feeling upset against him, but it was keeping her fear at bay so she wasn't complaining.

"Telling me you 'claimed' me isn't ruffling my feathers; it's actually really upsetting me. I'm not some kind of toy."

"Oh, I know that. Toys break if you handle them too roughly. You're more durable." He laughed out slightly and in a way that made Alice's hairs stand on end.

He was taking it all so lightly like it was all nothing more but a game to him.

Biting her bottom lip as she felt her anger beginning to leave her and become replaced with a much colder sensation of fear, she eyed him skillfully, "You're not funny."

"Sorry, sorry." Joker apologized warmly, his expression actually looked apologetic, "You're so against being claimed now. When you were younger you seemed so excited about it. How problematic…"

"Maybe because somewhere in the back of my head I actually thought you were a figment of my imagination?"

"It doesn't change the claim."

Alice paused. His tone of voice caught her entirely off guard.

The redhead's eye remained trained on her knowingly, his lips still pulled into that pleasant smile, "Don't act so against it. It's not as if you won't benefit from it. You need me after all."

The creepy atmosphere within the room was slowly returning. It was like a heavy invisible mist that just clogged up her lungs with each intake of breath she took.

Her nightmare came back to mind for a second and she felt her eyes widen at just the memory.

She didn't want to relive that. She really didn't.

However, spontaneously, a new thought dawned upon her.

Clearing her throat, Alice raised her head back upward in order to watch at him stilly, "You told me that the reason you're hanging around me is because I need you since I'm lonely, right?"

Just thinking about it, it made him sound like some kind of leech.

From the beginning he kept her to himself, almost as though he were feeding off the loneliness she got from the lack of friends she possessed.

Could a being that fed off of loneliness even exist?

She was a fairly rational person, though even she had her limits to the amount of explanations things could be given and the idea of blaming everything on her being insane was too much.

The brunette's eyes visibly dulled, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say it's the other way around."

Joker gave her a smile, one that didn't entirely reach the look in his eye while he watched at her in a near passive condescending manner that actually threw the female off for a moment, "It's a good thing that you do know better then, hm?"

**-.-**

**I'm so angry because I set myself up for this to have a third part lol. I write too much and I didn't want a 14k word chapter, nah. So I'll be updating/completing this God knows when. I'm praying that it's only three chapters because I can't handle so many WIP stories, I'm not physically capable, oh Lord.**

**SAT and ACT dates are coming up, I'd say the updates for all of my stories will definitely be slower, but I'm known to hide from my responsibilities so maybe, maybe not lol**

**But that's all! Hope it was enjoyable!**


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